Illegal drugs are not the only drug problem in this country

One night as I was preparing for
bed I had an erratic heart beat. I was out of breath just going upstairs. My
wife took me to the ER at MidMichiganRegionalMedicalCenter where they quickly
injected me with a couple IV's and hooked me up to oxygen. The doctors and care
were excellent.

As it turns out I had atrial
fibrillation, a rather common occurrence in "aging" people and very
treatable. I was admitted to the hospital, the first time in over forty years.
I came out feeling as good as ever but taking three medications daily (since
then changed to one) in addition to my 81 mg aspirin, multivitamin, and Zantac
for reflux disorder. I was suddenly thrust more deeply into the world of
prescription drugs and health care.

I am one of the fortunate ones to
have prescription drug coverage. But what if I didn't have insurance? The cost
of my three medications would be $155.55 generic or $243.02 brand name instead
of the $45 I paid. That got me thinking.

Subhead: Why are drugs so costly?

Time magazine (July 5) reported
there are 526 lobbyists in Washington
for the drug industry. That's nearly one lobbyist per congressman. Lobbyists
are there for one purpose only: to influence legislation for the benefit of the
drug industry.

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, [1] drug
lobbying cost is expected to be in the range of $150 million in 2004, about
half at the federal level, third at the state level and the rest directly at
the Food and Drug Administration. There is an additional $17.5 million to fight
price controls and protect patent rights (that's patent, not patient).

Subhead: Advertising.

We see ads for drugs on TV and in
consumer magazines. Reader's Digest (June 2004) had 10 ads for prescription
drugs, Field and Stream (June) had only 3, Better Homes and Gardens (July) had
7, Popular Science (June) had 3. Time (July 5) had none, but it did have one in
its July 26 issue. Many of these ads direct us to "ask your doctor if this
drug is right for you" and thus increase the demand for them.

Lipitor is one of the drugs
advertised directly to consumers. Pfizer Inc, the maker of Lipitor, reported a
net profit of $2.86 billion in the second quarter this year. Sales of Lipitor
were up 17%. [2]

In 1997 the Food and Drug
Administration allowed companies to advertise their drugs directly to
consumers. The drug companies spent over $3 billion in 2002 on such
advertising. There is no screening of these ads by the FDA or any other group.

The 50 drugs most heavily
advertised accounted for almost half of the $20.8 billion increase in drug
sales in 2002. The other half came from 9,850 prescription drugs that companies
advertised very little or not at all.

One drug company spent more money
promoting one of its arthritis drugs in 1999 than Pepsi spent to advertise
Pepsi or Budweiser to advertise its beer. Sales quadrupled that year to $1.5
billion for that drug alone. From a marketing standpoint, drug advertising is
very good.

The inflation rate was only 1.6% in 2001, yet
the average price per prescription increased 10% over the previous year. [3]
Before the Federal Drug Card benefit went into effect this year, companies
increased their price again. With all the increased sales, one could think drug
prices would drop. That happens in other industries.

Do the ads to consumers work? Do
doctors prescribe medication when patients ask for it? Sure they do. A few
years ago, I told my doctor I needed an antidepressant. Without diagnosing me,
the doctor gave me a prescription. I know someone else who has asked for and
received pain relievers. (Incidentally, after learning of the side effects of
that drug, I threw it out after two weeks before it had a chance to do anything
for me or to me.)

Should our good health depend on
the ads of pharmaceutical companies to consumers? Should we be going to the doctor
asking for drugs because they have been advertised or promoted to relieve or
cure high cholesterol, treat heartburn and reflux, increase sexual potency or
eliminate fatigue? Shouldn't these questions be answered by our health care
professionals? Personal responsibility would dictate being careful about the
drugs we take or ask for, but putting a stop to the direct advertising by drug
companies would be a positive action as well.